Coastal and deep-sea benthic diversities compared

Gray, John S.; Poore, Gary C. B.; Ugland, Karl I.; Wilson, Robin S.; Olsgard, F.; Johannessen, Odd H.

doi:10.3354/meps159097

Cited by 123 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Gray et al (1997) also concluded that evenness in the deep sea is higher than in shallower coastal environments. Extensive polychaete data sets from the recent ANDEEP expeditions to the Weddell Sea shelf and slope and Southern Ocean abyssal plain are also consistent with observations of high evenness at abyssal sites relative to Antarctic shelf sites (Schüller & Ebbe 2007, Schüller et al 2009).…”

Section: Antarctic Benthic Diversity In a Regional And Global Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychaete species diversity on the West Antarctic Peninsula deep continental shelf

Neal¹,

Hardy²,

Smith³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We assessed macrofaunal polychaete species diversity on the West Antarctic Peninsula at mean depths of 500 to 600 m along a cross-shelf transect near Anvers Island, Antarctica. Fifteen megacore samples from 3 sites were analysed to species level, revealing 78 polychaete species of which several are new to science. Quantitative samples allowed an assessment of species abundances and the relative contribution of dominance to overall species diversity. The composition of the assemblages varied across the shelf: the 2 outermost stations on the transect were relatively similar but differed from the innermost station, which had higher diversity and major differences in species composition, possibly linked to changes in the sediment characteristics and degree of food availability. Species diversity, measured by rarefaction, evenness and species richness estimators, was similar to values reported at other bathyal settings and slightly higher than that reported from the Arctic shelf, but in general lower than that reported at temperate and tropical abyssal sites. Dominance was much higher at Antarctic deep-shelf sites in comparison to temperate bathyal and abyssal sites.

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Section: Antarctic Benthic Diversity In a Regional And Global Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychaete species diversity on the West Antarctic Peninsula deep continental shelf

Neal¹,

Hardy²,

Smith³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Since then, the question of whether the deep sea is (hyper) diverse (Gray, 1994(Gray, , 2002Gray et al, 1997;Lambshead and Boucher, 2003) and what mechanisms maintain such high diversity (Grassle and Sanders, 1973;Grassle, 1989;Gage and Tyler, 1991;Etter and Grassle, 1992;Lambshead, 1993;Rogers, 2000;Levin et al, 2001;Snelgrove and Smith, 2002;Rex et al, 2005b) have been constantly discussed and remain controversial (May, 1994). According to Gage and Tyler (1991), seasonal food input is one of the factors that is a source of temporal patchiness and regulates species coexistence in the deep sea.…”

Section: Large-scale Diversity Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep, diverse and definitely different: unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystem

et al. 2010

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Abstract. The deep sea, the largest biome on Earth, has a series of characteristics that make this environment both distinct from other marine and land ecosystems and unique for the entire planet. This review describes these patterns and processes, from geological settings to biological processes, biodiversity and biogeographical patterns. It concludes with a brief discussion of current threats from anthropogenic activities to deep-sea habitats and their fauna.Investigations of deep-sea habitats and their fauna began in the late 19th century. In the intervening years, technological developments and stimulating discoveries have promoted deep-sea research and changed our way of understanding life on the planet. Nevertheless, the deep sea is still mostly unknown and current discovery rates of both habitats and species remain high. The geological, physical and Correspondence to: E. Ramirez-Llodra (ezr@icm.csic.es) geochemical settings of the deep-sea floor and the water column form a series of different habitats with unique characteristics that support specific faunal communities. Since 1840, 28 new habitats/ecosystems have been discovered from the shelf break to the deep trenches and discoveries of new habitats are still happening in the early 21st century. However, for most of these habitats the global area covered is unknown or has been only very roughly estimated; an even smaller -indeed, minimal -proportion has actually been sampled and investigated. We currently perceive most of the deep-sea ecosystems as heterotrophic, depending ultimately on the flux on organic matter produced in the overlying surface ocean through photosynthesis. The resulting strong food limitation thus shapes deep-sea biota and communities, with exceptions only in reducing ecosystems such as inter alia hydrothermal vents or cold seeps. Here, chemoautolithotrophic bacteria play the role of primary producers fuelled by chemical energy sources rather than sunlight. Other ecosystems, such as seamounts, canyons or cold-water corals have an Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2852 E. Ramirez-Llodra et al.: Unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystem increased productivity through specific physical processes, such as topographic modification of currents and enhanced transport of particles and detrital matter. Because of its unique abiotic attributes, the deep sea hosts a specialized fauna. Although there are no phyla unique to deep waters, at lower taxonomic levels the composition of the fauna is distinct from that found in the upper ocean. Amongst other characteristic patterns, deep-sea species may exhibit either gigantism or dwarfism, related to the decrease in food availability with depth. Food limitation on the seafloor and water column is also reflected in the trophic structure of heterotrophic deep-sea communities, which are adapted to low energy availability. In most of these heterotrophic habitats, the dominant megafauna is composed of detritivores, while filter feeders are abundant in...

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“…(4) Today's challenge to many researchers of the marine environment is to find answers to the questions dealing with diversity clines along depth gradients (Gray et al 1997) or latitudinal gradients (Arntz & Gallardo 1994). The general opinion is that, e.g., the deep sea and Antarctica contain highly diverse communities, though this view is far from straightforward and certainly requires confirmation from further sampling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative study of the nematode communities on the southeastern Weddell Sea shelf and slope (Antarctica)

Vanhove¹,

Arntz²,

Vincx³

1999

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Nothing is known about the structure of free-living manne nematode coinmunities in the high Antarctic. Our attempt at surveying this n~unerically most abundant meiobenthic taxon along the continental shelf and slope (200 to 2000 m) furmshed information on generic, trophic and age composition in 2 regions in the Weddell Sea (Kapp Norvegia, 6 stations, 71-72"S, 12-13" W; Halley Bay, 11 stations, 74-75"S, 25-29" W). A total of 7300 nematode identifications to generic level were analyzed by means of a variety of statistical techniques. The spatial structure indicated the existence of 4 major nematode genus associations colonizing the upper slope, downslope, Halley shelf and a muted habitat consisting of shelf break and Kapp Norvegia shelf. Dominated by genera like Sabatiena, Molgolaimus, A4icrolalmus, Monhystera, Daptonema, Leptolaimus, Acantholaimus and Dichromadora, these habitats often contained distinct associations of less abundant genera. The trophically diverse communities exhibited an equal shanng of epistrate, nonselective and selective deposit feeders, with a slight dominance of the flrst feedlng category. Each feeding guild was considered in light of the correlations with microbial food and fresh versus decomposing organic matter, leading to the conclusion that the applied classification does not adequately explain the trophic status of the deep-water communities. Globalscale compaiisons with literature data indicated the broad geographical distnbution of predominant nematode taxa and a lack of Antarctic endermsm. Only a weak separation of the entire nematode communities on a geographical basis was suggested by multivariate techniques. Although ocean-wide comparison was hampered by limited comparable literature data, diversity indices scored high and surpassed the Arctic bathyal assemblage The major agents behind the observed patterns involved sediment grain size and food content, operating over different scales. Depth per se had no major effect. Underlying mechanisms included water-column productivity, hydrodynamics, iceberg activity and macrofaunal presence.

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Coastal and deep-sea benthic diversities compared

Cited by 123 publications

References 21 publications

Polychaete species diversity on the West Antarctic Peninsula deep continental shelf

Polychaete species diversity on the West Antarctic Peninsula deep continental shelf

Deep, diverse and definitely different: unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystem

Comparative study of the nematode communities on the southeastern Weddell Sea shelf and slope (Antarctica)

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